Archive for the ‘Planning’ Category

The TIPS team would like to remind everyone that technology in the classroom does leave an environmental footprint. While it may be necessary to leave your workstation running over the weekend if you are using remote desktop, it is not necessary to leave the monitor on. Interactive white boards and other accessories do not need to be powered on when not in use either. If there is any way that you can get the standby light to go off (especially over the weekend) then small amounts of power can be saved which add up over the 1500+ of these devices that exist in our schoolboard. Out in the cloud there is much discussion about the power consumption at the hundreds of massive data centres that have sprung up. InfoExecutive has an article that talks about how some of these server farms are seeking carbon offsets by setting up in British Columbia and Quebec where power is 100% hydroelectric. An article in Data Centre Knowledge refers to studies that indicate that there are efficencies to be gained by turning up the thermostat inside these large data centres. It costs money and creates carbon dioxide in order to keep these machines cool, so the warmer that you can keep them the less it costs.

In May 2008, Alberta Education announced new funding to try and get data projectors into as many classrooms in the province as possible. Here’s what their memo said:

Alberta Education will invest $18.5 million per year over the next three years to support the further integration of technology into Alberta’s classrooms. These innovative and engaging learning environments will support teachers in helping students to develop the skills they need for global citizenship, lifelong learning, and participation in the world of work.

On many recent school visits I’ve asked teachers and administrators about their policy on cell-phone use by students. Most admit that at the junior and senior high school level that a majority of kids have cell phones, but most also have no plans to use them in the classroom. Some schools even have a “no cell phones” sign on their doors. With cellphones having evolved into smart phones, many with photo, video, messaging, and even internet capability, are we keeping a valuable tool out of the classroom? Trotter’s article provides some interesting uses for cell phones that are simple, engaging, and could augment curriculum that is otherwise technology free.

In a recent article in edutopia online called Disrupting Class: Student-Centric Education Is the Future , the authors (Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn) lay out the argument that only those technologies that support the student-centric classroom will have any impact on changing education for the better. They contrast the teacher-centric classroom, which we are all very familiar with, with a model of a classroom which supports multiple learning styles or a universal design for learning (UDL)approach.

Schools who have EPSB reliable, filtered, wireless network that students will be able to connect to with their own devices. While this device could be an i- Touc h, a laptop, or a netbook, there are few key things you should keep in mind if you are considering bringing your own device to school:

It also raises other questions: What do you do with old technology? Should we still keep some of this in case the Internet goes down? Or should we discard this old technology so we can embrace the new digital technology?

http://www.nectec.or.th/users/htk/it-educationTraditional educational practices no longer provide students with all the necessary skills for economic survival in todays workplace. Students must apply strategies for solving problems and use appropriate tools for learning, collaborating, and communicating. Todays learning environments must incorporate strategies and tools that prepare students for their futures. The following chart lists characteristics representing traditional approaches to learning and corresponding strategies often associated with new learning environments.